STORY: The Last Message

PART : 1

The Last Message

Aman checked his phone for the tenth time that evening. Still no reply. His best friend, Raghav, had sent him a strange message the night before—just one sentence.

"If anything happens to me, check the locker."

Aman had thought it was a joke at first. Maybe Raghav was drunk or messing around. But when he tried calling, Raghav's phone was switched off. Now, almost 24 hours later, something felt off.

Raghav never ignored messages.

Aman grabbed his bike keys and rushed out of his apartment, heading straight to Raghav’s place. He rode fast, weaving through the late-night traffic, his heart pounding harder with each turn.

When he reached the building, the security guard gave him a wary look. "Are you looking for Mr. Raghav?"

"Yeah, is he home?" Aman asked, already feeling uneasy.

The guard hesitated before shaking his head. "The police came earlier today. He’s missing."

Aman felt his stomach drop. "What do you mean, missing?"

"His neighbors heard a commotion last night. When the police broke in this morning, his apartment was empty. No sign of him."

Aman didn't waste another second. He ran upstairs, his mind racing. The front door was sealed with police tape, but he knew another way in. The fire escape.

Climbing up to the third-floor window, he carefully pried it open and slipped inside. The apartment was a mess. Papers were scattered everywhere, the couch was overturned, and there were scratch marks on the wooden floor—as if someone had been dragged.

Swallowing his fear, Aman went straight to Raghav's bedroom. He knew exactly what locker his friend had meant.

It was a small, combination-locked safe hidden inside the wardrobe. Raghav had once joked, "If I ever disappear, open this. You'll know why."

Aman punched in the birthdate he knew by heart. The lock clicked open.

Inside, there was a single item: a flash drive.

Aman grabbed it, shoving it into his pocket just as he heard footsteps outside the door. His pulse spiked. He wasn’t alone.

The doorknob turned.

Thinking fast, he ducked behind the bed, holding his breath. The door creaked open, and someone stepped inside. The heavy sound of boots. Slow, deliberate movements. Whoever it was, they weren’t in a hurry.

Aman peered through a gap between the bed and the floor. A tall man in a black jacket stood near the wardrobe, scanning the room.

Aman knew he had seconds before he was discovered. He silently reached for his phone and sent a single message to himself:

"I have the drive."

Then, he turned off the sound and slipped the phone into his sock.

The man moved closer. Aman’s heartbeat thundered in his ears. He clenched his fists, preparing to run—

Then suddenly, the man’s phone rang.

The distraction was all Aman needed. He bolted out from his hiding spot, dashing straight for the window. The man shouted, lunging toward him, but Aman was faster. He leapt out onto the fire escape and scrambled down.

The man cursed loudly, but Aman didn’t stop running. He didn’t stop until he was miles away, breathless and shaking.

Finally, he pulled out the flash drive and stared at it.

Raghav knew something. Something dangerous. And now, Aman was part of it.

But the real question was—what had Raghav found?

And was it worth dying for?